BloodRayne: The Devils
by VampiressClaudia
Summary: BloodRayne kicking ass, seducing and finding new tows. Miss Rayne agrees to help a friend but finds out that the job might be a little more challenging then expected.
1. Chapter 1: Family Politics

If you're looking for faustian motives, psychological warfare, intense plot, you've come to the wrong place. This is an immature flick of Rayne kicking ass, seducing and finding new toys; for those of you who like light reading: welcome, I hope you will enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it!

I have inspired myself out of Vampire the Masquerade books and game for the characters, and for some of the lines. Please don't sue!

I do not own BloodRayne, blah blah blah. The story takes place after BloodRayne 2 in a European city that is not covered by the shroud.

Rated M: strong language.

Sorry if I have grammar problems.

Dedicated to Erika13. Thank you for reading my first BloodRayne story!

**BloodRayne: **

**The Devils**

Chapter I: Family Politics

21:35 1st day

"Your little assassin is late."

"Diego said she would."

The room looked like an office: a beautiful carved mahogany desk in the middle, one bookcase on the wall, a comfortable sofa in one corner and two armchairs, one in front of the desk, the other near the sofa. There were three men in the room, all dressed in black suits, one standing with his back at the room looking outside the window, then the youngest one (he looked no more that 22), the one who talked last, was sitting in the armchair near the sofa, and the last one had his fists on the front of the desk and his face looking at the carvings of the furniture. When he spoke his voice was hard and you could tell the frustration was building up in him.

"I still don't understand how come a 500 year old elder like Diego can trust an outsider with family matters!"

"Are you questioning his judgment?" The younger one said fast. He was the only one in the room that was not a vampire, but he was the elder's protégé, he knew that Tony would not risk harming him lest he incur Diego's wrath.

Tony glared at him, he had to watch what he said around this brat.

"No…" Tony said measuring every word. "But these are family matters, we should send for more of our people! I heard this BloodRayne as connections with the other families and clans, how do we know she isn't a spy?"

"Diego trusts her, he recommended her, that should be enough for you...us." The younger one said trying to repress a smile. He knew that wasn't a good answer, but it was the one that made Tony even more angry.

Tony looked at the other vampire in the room as if asking for help, but Mario kept his back at the room and his gaze outside the window. He already talked the situation with Tony, and told him that he was accepting help from anyone, if an elder recommended someone then that was good enough for him, besides if he asked for help from the family he will lose a lot of prestige, his elders thinking that he is incapable of managing the city. Anyway, if this BloodRayne botched the job it would be better if someone outside the family died, they had already lost a few good men, and it was going to take a while for poor Carmen to get back to normal. Tony was right, he wouldn't trust someone outside the family either, but then again Tony was too impulsive and didn't quite understand family politics.

There was a knock on the door, and then the butler came in.

"Miss BloodRayne is here."

Mario turned and proceeded to sit in the chair behind the desk. Tony moved from his spot and went to stand with his back at the bookcase. The young one only shifted a little in his chair.

"Send her in."

The butler lowered his head then opened the door for the woman to enter. The room was enshrouded in darkness so they didn't see her at first but they heard her say 'thank you' when the butler opened the door for her.

"Please come in" said Mario.

The woman stepped closer and now they could see her. She was dressed in an impeccable black suit, they noticed that she didn't wear anything else underneath the coat, her décolletage catching the eye of all the men present in the room; she had a leather collar with a circular pendant dangling from it to lie on her chest. The rest of her clothes consisted of matching pants, black leather gloves on her hands and she also had stiletto black shoes that completed her image. When she came in front of the desk they could see her entire body: A delicious set of curves that could make any man's fantasies for a long time, but her face was the one that always made them stare dumb footed. She had brilliant green eyes that seemed to capture the light in the room and even glow when the light was very scarce, her face was soft with perfect skin, not one spot on it that could ruin the picture, and her features were feminine, her lips were full, the color of blood which complemented her bright red shoulder length hair that seemed to move like silk when she walked. When she entered the men could sense a sweet, metallic scent surrounding her, making her almost irresistible.

'At least I know why an elder could like her.' Mario thought silently, who was the first one to get back to reality; Tony was still staring, his mouth slightly opened.

"Good evening. Please have a seat." Mario offered getting up of his chair to welcome her and pointing to the seat in front of the desk.

"Thank you." She said in that silky soft voice of hers. As soon as she sat Mario took his seat.

"Thank you for coming Miss BloodRayne, I am Mario Arpino, this is my associate Tony Arpino" he said pointing at the man who was standing with his back at the bookcase. This seemed to call Tony back to earth and he shook his head, then bowed his head once. The woman saluted. "And this is –" before he could finish, the young one got out of his chair and proceeded to speak his name and to kiss the woman's hand but she was the first one to talk.

"Alex McEwan. Nice to see you again" she said smiling.

He swallowed hard. "You remember my name?"

"Of course I do. We met last year at your aunt's party, Diego introduced us." She looked at his expression: he seemed a teenager who met his favorite celebrity, he even had those dumb puppy eyes and he remained with her hand half way to his mouth. Because he just stood there staring she jerked her hand out of his but he caught it again and this time he kissed it.

Mario raised one eyebrow. "Shouldn't you be somewhere else Alex?"

"Me? Well I would like to stay for a while."

"I would like it if you left." Mario said, his voice loud and commanding. Alex may be the elder's protégé, but he was still the elder of the family in the city and he was the one entrusted with the protection of it. Alex had told them that he would only stay until BloodRayne arrived, and then leave the city to tell Diego that she is there; Mario wanted him out of there as soon as possible for two reasons: one, because he wasn't going to be of any help, he was fresh in the game and even though he was smart he still had a lot to learn. And two, the city was like a war zone for members of his family, he didn't want to know what Diego would do if he found out that his favorite nephew got killed in Mario's city.

Judging Mario's tone Alex knew that he had better leave. He bowed his head to BloodRayne, said "good evening" to the others and left.

'He hasn't changed one bit' thought Rayne silently to herself. When she met him first she was told that he was a family treasure, but this treasure sure looked shabby to her. He was smart and sharp witted but he was inexperienced, and to top that he had an ego to match some of the eldest vampires around. Diego told her that he himself was going to give him the 'invitation' to join the inner circle of the family, meaning that he was going to turn him into a vampire, but she told him that he should wait a little more because he was too young. Diego listened to her and after throwing his protégé a look he said that she might be right, Rayne was one of the few people Diego truly listened to, then asked her if she could do him a favor. The city in which Alex worked was under siege and he asked her if she could investigate a little, and possibly make it safe for his nephew. Rayne agreed and that's how she came to be here.


	2. Chapter 2: Trouble in the City

Chapter II: Trouble in the City

22:03

"Miss BloodRayne, do you know why you're here?"

"I was told there was trouble brewing in the city, but I came here for the details."

Mario noticed something else about this woman. It's like she had an aura of confidence and passion around her, maybe that is why she was so attractive. She placed one leg above the other, her forearms on the arms of the chair.

"Well, let me update you. The city, until recently, was pretty quiet, the gangs had a minimum of activity, and the Arpino family had most of the control. But something happened a few months ago, the gangs have become more bold, they have even kidnapped several citizens. "

"Anyone important to the city?"

"Mostly simple people, I'm guessing this is a way to try to annoy us."

"And it's working."

Mario looked at her, most times he would find it disrespectful to hear something like this, especially from someone outside the family, and by a mere assassin, but for some reason one of the corners of his mouth curved.

"I'm afraid it is. In fact, we even sent a few men to deal with the gang, they're called 'The Knights', and they sent them back in urns. Only Carmen got away and that's because they needed someone to get the urns back to us, but she hasn't been quite herself."

"What happened to her?"

"We don't know" Mario said sighing. "She hasn't spoken a word, and she is very…twitchy"

"Twitchy?" BloodRayne said raising an eyebrow.

"It's like she's constantly scared. Keeps looking over her shoulder, even though no one is in the room. Anyway 'The Knights' kidnapped the daughter of the chief of police, they killed her, didn't even ask for a ransom, never do."

"'The Knights' … Is this a new gang? What kind of teenagers calls themselves 'The Knights'?"

"The deluded ones" said Tony from his spot.

Rayne looked at him, measuring him. "Have you come across these guys often?"

"Only once. I found them hanging in the back of the local club. They didn't seem that tough to me, I cut through them like they were nothing. They even tried to shoot me but their hands were shaking so much I didn't even have to dodge."

"They must have known that this city isn't theirs alone, how come they are so bold all of the sudden?" Rayne said. She propped her chin in one hand, thinking. Even though her gaze was down her eyes still shone. After a few moments she said:

"Someone is pulling their strings. Someone is bankrolling them and someone is leading them. Going to that club was a bad move for them, you know you are at war, they should have known that as well, but they still seemed pretty confident to go out anyway. And these kidnappings are planed, but I still don't understand why they are doing them. Maybe they're taunting you, showing you that this is their city now, or maybe hey have another purpose."

"There is something else" Mario said. "All of the victims had bite marks. We have a vampire on our hands."

"Are you sure it is a vampire?"

"They had bite marks." Tony said loudly.

"This doesn't necessarily make it or them vampires."

"So you're saying there's a chance we're dealing with something else, and that these guys have made two perfect vampire bite marks and drained all the blood through them, only to fuck with our heads?"

"Well, they are kidnapping random people."

"What do you think could have done this?" said Mario, a concerned look on his face.

"I'm not sure, but I would like to see the coroner's rapports on all the victims. Best case scenario: a vampire, worst case scenario: don't want to think about it, either I'm going to take care of it. How many known vampires are in the city at the moment?"

"Not counting the two of us" said Mario pointing at himself and Tony (Rayne understood they knew she was a dhampir), "three: Mirina who owns a club downtown 'Volcano', I believe it's called, Carus, who is only passing through, he says he's leaving tomorrow, and Gio, who is one of our people."

"That few?"

"Most of them left, some of them dead. We found my predecessor decapitated in his own home, and by the marks of blood in the house it would seem that someone had played soccer with his head. We found a few hairs, a few prints, from local punks, but nothing important."

"I'd still like to see the scene. Did anyone investigate thoroughly?"

"I'm afraid not, we couldn't let any one get too close lest they find out what we are. Where are you staying? I will make someone deliver the files to your heaven tomorrow night."

"'The Seasons Hotel' downtown, room 201, let me give you my number so that you can reach me fast." She said taking a piece of paper from the desk and writing a number on it. She handed it to Mario. When she did he noticed something different about her, her skin didn't have that cold paleness that most vampires had, she looked by all means alive, 'must be because she is a dhampir' Mario though silently.

"Is there anything important I should know about this situation?" She said looking at both of them.

"No. We have already told you everything we know."

"Well if that's it, I'm going to retire for the evening. Good evening gentlemen." She said getting up.

"Miss BloodRayne…Thank you." She just flashed him a seductive e smile, and sauntered out.

"What do you think?" said Tony after she left.

"I think I know why the elder likes her. She seems capable, Just hope she knows what she's doing."


	3. Chapter 3: What’s the News on the Street

Chapter III: What's the News on the Street?

21:17 2nd day

Rayne had looked through all the files, and not finding anything other that the killing had been brutal was pissing her off. So she went to the crime scenes. Mario was right, the walls had been painted with the blood of the victims, the entire places trashed. Didn't seem to be a burglary because all the expensive objects were destroyed not stolen, she found pearls on the floor, rocks from different necklaces and rings, torn out of their place and the rest of the object twisted. Whoever did this had the M.O. of a pack of wild animals.

Time to talk with someone with his nose on the streets, he might know more.

…

After a few knocks the door finally opened.

In front of her stood a man, probably 30, african american, his shaved head giving him a clean, neat look. He was wearing black jeans that were too big and hanged on him, and a lumpy dark blue sweatshirt. He looked like a punk but Rayne knew the guy was more than that, Kodgeac had a talent for listening and he always knew the real deal on the streets, he knew how to keep quiet and how to keep out of other people's business, a guy with an ear to the ground. He wasn't involved in anything, and even if he was Rayne wasn't going to give him a hard time, all he did was run a bar; he used to be involved with a local gang but no more.

Kodgeac and Rayne went a long way back, she had saved his life two times now. Once when he almost got killed by his former gang (she beat the crap out of them and told them not to mess with him again or they were going to have problems) and the second time was when she vouched for him in front of the Arpino family. One of the mobsters plan had gone awry and he figured blaming Kodgeac would save his ass because it would be his word against Kodgeac's. Rayne intervened and told the Arpino's that she guarantees for her friend thus saving his life again.

In front of him stood the most beautiful woman he had ever seen, probably 22 (he had never asked her), a slender figure with generous curves and a face that could make anyone's legs shaky with just a look. She was wearing her 'standard' outfit, that's what she called it, although it looked anything but standard: a black and red leather outfit that melded on her like a second skin. She also had those huge blades and two guns attached to her wrists, Kodgeac saw her fight once, and it was no secret what she did for a living, she was an assassin. She must have been one hell of an assassin if the Arpino's treasured her, they took her word against one of their own. He looked at her, savoring the sight:

"Baby girl…"

She flashed him a seductive smile "Hi, sweetie…"

He took a step back to let her come in, when she passed him he caught a whiff of her scent and he almost moved his head following her, wanting to become intoxicated with her smell.

The condo looked the same, modest and clean; she went in the kitchen and hopped on the table, her arms at her side, her smile present.

"What brings you here, baby girl?" he said closing the door behind him.

"The same things that always brings me: the need for information and pleasure." When she uttered the last word his eyes moved to her lips; she noticed that, and bit the bottom one with one fang, then when his gaze met hers, she just smiled. He didn't know what she was, and he had enough wit not to ask, he could see she wasn't like every girl, the way she behaved, confident, almost like a predator, the way she moved, every look, every gesture fit her dominating demeanor. And the way she looked, she was more that beautiful, she was hot, a girl who had sexual power and wasn't ashamed to show it; he had even seen her dance once: they were both at his bar and he had told her that he wasn't having customers so she went to the jukebox, found a song, got on the counter and started dancing. 'Damn, can she move or what?' he remembered that scene; he saw pretty girls all the time in his bar, but she wasn't just a pretty girl, most Barbies in the bar danced like they were afraid of making any sudden moves that might crack their makeup, but Rayne was amazing, the moves came natural, fluid, almost like she was build especially for dancing, and the looks she threw guaranteed that the bar would be packed for the next few weeks with men and some women who hoped to see her again.

"It's always a pleasure to see you." She said. Rayne knew that Kodgeac wouldn't make any moves on her, even though he wanted her, he knew she was the kind of woman he had better stay away from: an assassin who saved his life and a beautiful woman, very bad combination. He liked her, he liked being around her, talking to her, but in a way she kind of scared him, so he never made any moves on her, he was going to stick to more ordinary women.

From her point of view they were just friends, but that never stopped her from playing with him…

"I need info about 'The Nights'."

"They are a local gang, they hang around the 'Volcano'. Anything specific?"

"Yeah, are they under new guidance? Y'know, someone bankrolling them, pulling their strings?"

"Hmm…From what I know they do have a new leader, afraid I don't know him, but I do know his name, the call him Paul 'The Head' Sorvino."

"Sounds familiar."

"It's also an actor's name, anyway I saw him once, he was almost surrounded by his goons, the other gang members and a few women, and they were flying around him like bees around honey."

"More like flies around shit. Do you know where he is now?"

"Probably at the 'Volcano'. I do know that this is fucked up because usually gangs don't have one boss, they have contenders to the title and they have a lot of sub bosses; well, this guy seemed to be in control all by himself, he didn't need others. Weirdest thing was that they all looked like they wanted to please him and not compete with him for the title like it usually happens."

"Did the guys have these kind of dumb, almost brain-washed looks on their faces?"

Kodgeac frowned: "yeah, yeah, they did." How she knew that, he didn't want to ask.

Rayne knew that that was usually the case when vampires were using their power to make humans more pliable.

"Listen, baby girl, other that the 'Volcano', I know 'The Knights' have a set up in a warehouse in the 4h district, guns storage, drugs dealings, it's one of their major safe houses."

"So, you're saying if they lose that they are going to be pissed." She smiled rubbing her chin with one of her fingers.

"I didn't say that, but it will be a pain in the neck for them; but I suggest you get the heavy cavalry because it is going to be tight."

She chuckled and looked at him. "Kodgeac… I am the heavy cavalry. If you find out more lemme know, kay?"

She jumped off the table and strolled to the door but paused before leaving; she threw him a smile over her shoulder, she knew he had been watching her, and said in that cool voice:

"Thanks for the info."

"Baby girl, watch yourself, I would like to see you again."

She just waved her hand not bothering looking back.

"I need to get laid" he said after she left. She was gone, but he could still smell her.


	4. Chapter 4: Warehouse Cleaning Services

Chapter IV: Warehouse Cleaning Services

23:54

She watched the warehouse before going in. A bunch of shovelheads guarding the great treasure. There seemed to be more inside but no one important, or powerful enough to be a challenge, it would seem that this night she would have to settle for quantity rather that quality. 'At least they are many' she thought silently.

She scouted some more before she saw something that caught her eye. A vampire; she used Beliar's eye to get a better view and she noticed that the guy had a strange armband with a complicated design. It almost looked like one of those medieval blazers, this one had what looked like a drop of blood surrounded by black shadows and one ribbon with words on it, but she couldn't tell what it said. 'This might be fun after all.' Before she knew it more and more vampires appeared, 6 now, but all in different places: one on the rooftop, one on the second floor, one on the first floor, one on ground level inside, and two outside watching different doors. She was on the roof of the building near the warehouse, with a clear view on the one on the roof. There were a couple of humans there too but they were not a problem.

"And let the fun begin."

She pointed one of her Carpathian Dragons at the vampire, he may be undead, but one shot in the head with one of these special guns, and that was enough to end his miserable existence. The shot was quite a distance away and because the Dragons when fired did not make a normal gun shot noise, the humans didn't notice that their special friend was on the floor. One of them did notice something was wrong and left his post to investigate, only to receive a bullet to the head as well; this time it didn't go unnoticed. The last opened his mouth and was about to yell when the bullet came right through the roof of the mouth exiting through the back.

In order to get on the roof she had to climb a fire escape ladder, to get to the higher ground and then perform an impressive summersault. 'Nothing to it' she said a few seconds later when she landed nimbly on her feet in a crouched position. She remained like that, perfectly still for a few seconds noting her surroundings, taking in every sound and smell. No movement out of the ordinary, no one panicking or hurt…yet.

There were stairs leading to the second floor; 'fools' she thought 'they thought if anyone would crash the party they would start with the ground level, never expected someone to start with the roof.'

She descended slowly, not wanting to attract unwanted attention; she hid behind some crates and sent her harpoon to catch the nearest human. The chain wrapped around his neck, preventing him to scream; the man struggled only to get face to face with the red haired vixen:

"Shh, darling, I'm good at this."

She bit deeply on his neck and swallowed the warm liquid moaning softly. Now she didn't care if she was heard because she was growing stronger with every mouth full. She finished, a little blood running down her chin, she wiped it away and listened carefully. Two people were coming, one vampire and a human. She moved a little bit and hid. The two came and saw the corpse, she went round them and before the human could ready his shotgun she had attacked him with three precise blade swipes, cutting him in two at the waist. The vampire bared his teeth and pointed his gun at her, but before he could shoot she started kicking him. Rayne saw that all she had to do was kick the weapon out of his hands and the thing flew a few feet away. She realized that her kicks were enough to make aiming harder for any vampire, but this guy didn't even know how to hold a gun properly and she quickly finished him with an impressive blade attack that severed his head. She heard footsteps from downstairs, meaning that they knew they had company. She smiled.

"Step right up gents, I got plenty for every one."

Unfortunately the stairway was on the opposite of the room and when they came up they stopped and started shooting at her not daring to come any closer. She had to duck near some steel crates to avoid the bullets. Rayne used her Aura Vision to check and see how many they were: two vampires and four humans, and they were shooting at her with shotguns and machine guns. The crates were good shelter, but she came here to dance, not sit, so she waited for the shotguns to get reloaded and jumped over the steel crates trying to get closer even though they were still shooting at her. She managed to dodge the heavy hire but a few bullets did pass her body, she felt the pain but this wasn't slowing her down, it was more pissing her off. She landed on top of one and quickly flew into Blood Rage, more bullets went through her, but now they were panicking, and she could smell it, she delivered several blade swipes and a few kicks of such strength that they knocked two thugs unconscious. One of the vampires dropped his gun and jumped at her, his claws outstretched. She knew that this one, instead of getting afraid, was getting mad, vampires get claws only when they are angry or when they had a special ability. The claws weren't going to save him thought. She brought her red gaze up only to have his claws across her face. The vampire tried to jump on her again, but she was ready, she moved with such speed that he didn't notice what had happen until it was too late. She had cut his throat and his stomach, blood coming out of the wounds at an alarming rate, the vampire looked surprised and she didn't even bother to sever the head completely, she just kicked the head upwards and the force ripped the remaining flesh. The other vampire put his gun down and slowly backed away, terror written all over his face.

"Afraid of a girl?"

Rayne was a few feet away when she jumped on him wrapping her legs on his waist, her fangs piercing his neck skin, blood coming into her mouth. She swallowed hard, the blood not only healing all her wounds but giving her that ecstatic feeling that she craved; she moaned softly enjoying it.

But it was over sooner than she wanted. Rayne wiped the blood on her lips and chin with the tip of her fingers, and then tasted the liquid; she noticed that it was strong blood, but the vessels were a bunch of morons. The vampire who made them was powerful but his minions left a lot to be desired, they could barely qualify as worthy targets. Four vampires down, two to go.

No one was coming up, so she figured she would have to get down to them. Rayne looked around and saw the stairs, but she had other plans.

A few seconds she came crashing through the window and landed between two thugs. They didn't even have time to say their prayers. Rayne looked around the room and saw that it was a good thing she came through the window because they had prepared an ambush: they had put crates and tables around the stairs and seemed to be prepared to shoot anything that came down. 'Stairs are for wimps' she thought smiling.

She found one vampire on the ground level and killed him fast, but saved the last one for an interrogation; unfortunately the last one chickened out and was no were to be found.

"Dammit. Oh well, looks like I'll have to get more info from somewhere else."

The warehouse cleaned out she phoned Mario to let him know that one important stash was covered and that he should send some people to clean up the mess.


	5. Chapter 5: Clubbin’

Chapter V: Clubbin'

21:06 3rd day

Rayne was dressed in her 'standard outfit', but her blades and her guns were in a backpack on her shoulder; she was going to try to blend in a crowd and if they saw the weapons they might not want to dance with her. She had called in advance and spoken with Mirina, the owner of the 'Volcano', usually she didn't do this when she wanted to go clubbin' but Mirina was a vampire and it was only courtesy that she ask for permission before coming into her turf. Clubs like his were called 'nutrio', it actually meant that vampires were allowed to pick up humans and feed from them.

Calling ahead also meant that she wouldn't have to wait in line, then again she never waited in line, just a flash of her wicked smile and the doorman would let her in.

When she walked past the waiting people she felt all their eyes on her. Rayne gave her name to the doorman and waited for him to look her up on the list, but he didn't take his eyes of her even though he was leafing through his papers. She smiled:

"I can go in, right?"

The doorman just nodded with those puppy eyes that she'd seen so many times.

"Uh huh."

The club was packed inside, the music pumping loud almost making the walls shake. Rayne needed answers and she knew from whom to get them. She passed a few poseurs trying to hit on her, and went straight to the counter.

"What can I get you, beautiful?" said the bartender.

"How about a little info?" She said smiling; she crossed her arms in front of her pushing her breasts up.

"Tricks like that aren't going to work with me. I'm gay."

"They why were you looking at my boobs?" Rayne said in her cool voice.

He raised an eyebrow: "Just because I'm gay doesn't mean I can't appreciate beauty." He looked a her smiling.

She chucked softly charming him; maybe he won't hall for her seduction techniques, but she still had enough charisma to bend even the most stubborn to her will. She never broke eye contact. Rayne needed answers and she knew how to get them.

"Promise I won't ask anything dirty, okay? I'm Rayne by the way."

"I'm Michael, but my friends call me Cocktail."

Rayne laughed again softly: "Well, my friends call me Baby girl, so I guess we're even."

"Listen I really need to talk to you about something."

"Shoot" he said coming closer and crossing his arms on the counter in front of her.

"Do you know were Mirina is, the owner of the club?"

"Sure. She's with the Head as always. Look for them in the VIP area, upstairs." He pointed to some stairs and when he did she turned her head in that direction. He came a little closer and caught her scent, on impulse he inspired deeply; she probably noticed that and turned around looking at him. He thought she would be upset, but she just had the most heart warming smile he had ever seen.

"Thanks for the info Michael." And with that she melded into the crowd. He had to admit, that smile made his night.

She crossed the dancing area, making her way to the stairs, the bouncer tried to make a gesture saying that she can't come up, but one flash of her smile insured that he stood out of her way.

She looked around the room: a smaller bar with only a few people around it, a stripper's pole to the left, and a couch in front of it. No one was rubbing the pole, but the couch was full. One man was in the middle of a bunch of blood dolls, he was wearing a biker jacket complete with chains and spikes, black leather pants and boots to match. His dark hair was meticulously gelled to look like it wasn't, his pale face almost a shade of white, his dark eyes seem to bore into the souls of the ladies present.

Rayne straightened up, her look cool and confident. She paced slowly and went in front of him. The guy looked up and smiled, he got his arms from around the other girls shoulders and said, not taking his eyes away from her:

"Ladies will you please leave us."

The other girls got up, throwing Rayne mean looks, but one remained, a kind of pretty girl with blonde hair that curled at the end, and hazel eyes.

"Mirina, please, I would like a word with your guest."

"The 'guest' should—"

"Mirina, please" He looked at her and smiled, she just babbled "S-sure Head, w-whatever you say." She flashed him the dumbest smile Rayne had ever seen and went to the bar.

"Please sit next to me." He told Rayne.

She sat down and crossed her legs. He never took his eyes off her, then brought his hand and touched her face with the tip of his fingers, he trailed then on her lips and whispered looking in her eyes: "So beautiful…" Rayne didn't know why she let this man touch her, usually when that happened and she hadn't initiated it, it would result in the man being staked with his own arm. But this guy slipped his arm around her small waist pulling her close; maybe she let him touch her because he was totally gorgeous, a man that could make even her stop and stare. 'Fine, two can play this game' Rayne thought. She put on her wicked smile and said:

"Who do I have the pleasure of speaking with?"

"Everybody knows me, darling, I'm the 'Head'."

"No, I mean your real name."

He chuckled: "If you must, I could never say no to beauty. My name is Paul Sorvino and you my dear are…?"

"No, I mean your real name." She repeated. He smiled showing his fangs: "What gave me away?"

"You're a little too handsome, a little too powerful and a little too dangerous to be just 'Paul Sorvino'." She knew he would like that answer, _vane_ men are easy to manipulate, she just had to be careful not to let herself be manipulated in turn, because what she said was true. This guy was amazing, he had that 'bad boy' charm that always did he trick with her, and his eyes emanated power, Rayne was attracted to men with power.

His face came closer and his eyes focused on her lips. "Look there beautiful" he said pointing at her back, she turned her sight. "Look at the arm band of the bouncer." Rayne noticed it had the same symbol she saw last night: a drop of blood surrounded by shadows and a ribbon with words on it.

"Sanguis imperium est" He said out loud.

"Blood is power" she said. Rayne didn't know squat about Latin, but even she figured what the words could mean.

"It means, my beautiful, that real power is in the blood, not muscles, not mind, but blood. This city was ruled by that banner, and it will be again."

She turned her head only to see that his lips were one inch away from hers and he was moving closer and closer, she found her senses broken, her entire body earning for his touch. 'Dammit, why does lust have to be my weakness?' she thought. Finally their lips touched, the sweet kiss melting slowly into a passionate deep kiss, his hands, one on her waist, the other on her leg, pulled her close. She let herself get carried away moaning softly, one of her arms around his neck and the palm of the other resting on his chest. Their lips separated moments later, both smiling.

"I knew you would be mine."

It was hard resisting him but somehow what he said struck a cord in her, and her smile melted away, she raised an eyebrow, her eyes radiating power: "Yours?"

"I know you were the one who destroyed the warehouse, I don't care; I wanted to know if you were as deadly as you are beautiful. And now that you have proven yourself to me, you are worthy of being my weapon, my guardian. You will have a great role in my city. What do you think?"

"I think you've been getting high on your own supply."

He frowned, his expression saying that he did not understand what she meant.

"You don't understand, do you? Figures. You see old man," she said pushing his hands off her, "while you were sleeping the world changed, power changed. I don't care what kind of a badass you are, no one in the 21st century is going to acknowledge a fucking lord."

"Are you so sure they will not bend to my will? After all, you did."

"Go to Hell!" She yelled grabbing his neck; when she did she noticed something about his skin, not only did it look like ivory, but it felt like ivory, the temperature was right, but she couldn't squeeze at all, the skin was hard as stone.

"Rayne, please…" He was teasing her, the mother-fucker was teasing her!

She grabbed her backpack and stormed out, her blood boiling with rage and thinking that this had almost been a waste of time. She pulled out a cell phone and dialed Kodgeac's number. After a few rings he picked up, and Rayne told him to do a check up on the banner "Sanguis imperium est", before she hung up, he told her that he had found some good info on Paul. Rayne said that she will get there later, first she had to get somewhere else. She would go to the Arpino's, they must know more about the city's history, and they should know that they are dealing with a very powerful very whacked-out vampire.


	6. Chapter 6: Ashes

Chapter VI: Ashes

23:12

She was jumping from rooftop to rooftop trying o get to the Arpino mansion as soon as possible. Of course she could have just as easily taken a cab, but Rayne needed to calm herself down after her meeting with Mr. Head-in-the-Ass. When she heard him say that she was his, Rayne felt like going ballistic: 'Who the hell does he think he is? And what the hell does he think I am? His property? There have been only two people in this world who I had answered to, Mynce and Sir Tremain, and even they had to push hard to get me to listen. And now this moron comes along and expects me to just bend knee to him? I'm sure as shit ain't gonna take orders from a vampire dressed in a biker's outfit with a funny name. When I die the Devil won't get to give me orders!' Rayne knew that plenty of people had tried to control her, and all of them ended dead, but she also had a lot of people who owed her favors. Like with the Arpino Family, these guys, after Kagan's death and almost the complete dissipation of the Shroud, figured that if they wanted to survive as one of the few vampire families around they should not be hostile to BloodRayne. After all, if they pissed her off they might be next on her list, it wouldn't be the first family she annihilated. She would work for them and in return they owed her debts, debts like the one she used when she vouched for Kodgeac.

Rayne finally reached the Arpino mansion, but she could sense that something wasn't right. No one was moving in the house and all the lights were off even though there were cars parked outside. She entered the mansion, switched to Aura Vision and proceeded to carefully inspect the house. Walls painted crimson with blood, dismembered bodies everywhere and the smell of death and decay around her, but Rayne didn't even gasp, she was used to slaughter. She quickened her pace and got to the office to find the same scene, only there was something different here, the desk was covered in some kind of dust. Rayne came closer and found that it wasn't dust, but ashes, a vampire had been killed here. Usually when vampires die they leave behind a body, or body parts, that is if they aren't killed by fire or sun, well, this one seemed to have spontaneously combusted after he had been tied to the desk.

"Wait, if they got to the Arpino's…Shit!"

Rayne quickly exited the mansion, her thoughts on Kodgeac. 'The Knights' and their Head found the Arpino Family, and if they could do that to vampires, she didn't want to think what they were going to do to a human.

She jumped from building to building hoping that she would get there in time. She saw the light in his apartment and a little voice inside her head said that 'maybe he isn't dead'. She saw using Aura Vision that there was a single human in there, he was sitting at his computer and she recognized the head signature and the smell of blood as being Kodgeac's.

Rayne climbed the fire escape ladder and entered the apartment through the opened window. She came close to him: "Kodgeac."

"Jesus, Rayne. You scared the shit outta me."

"Kodgeac, listen to me, you are in grave danger, get the hell out of here as soon as possible."

"What, why?"

"Just listen to me, go completely underground, or preferably out of the city."

Rayne's heightened senses picked up a dozen humans running up the stairs, but that wasn't what concerned her, it was the vampire with strong blood who was also coming up.

"Fuck! Just get out through the fire escape, I'll keep them here."

"Rayne… why are you still helping me?"

Rayne blinked.

"Because you are the only one in this city who I would trust my life with" Rayne said with a clear voice all the while looking in his eyes.

There were loud bangs on the door meaning that 'The Knights' had already got up.

"Go!"

Rayne went to the hall of the apartment as far away from the door as possible but still having a clear view of the entrance, then switched her Carpathian Dragons to Blood Hammer. She waited for the little fuckers to break the door then fired both her guns. A loud explosion shook the entire building and blasted half a dozen humans, even the ones that weren't in the direct explosion were injured. The few that had sense, like Rayne, to duck behind a wall were 3, but _he_ was not even scratched. Paul Sorvino came into what was left of the hall and Rayne knew that she couldn't fire her guns now because she was too close and, besides, it didn't seem to work on him. She went into a room where she would have more space to fight. The three thugs that were left entered after the Head and started looking around, until he pointed to where she was. One of them grabbed a plank of wood that was lying on the floor. He was the first one to die by Rayne's blades, a few slashes and he was made to ribbons, the second guy got a spiked heel right in the gut sending him flying across the room to get impaled in the steel that was sticking out of the structure of the building. The last wanted to jump on her but she dodged and caught him from behind, she started to drain him dry, but stopped and pierced the skin of the neck with one of the spikes of Dragons, the other spike piercing the thugs' back. She lifted him off the ground keeping him above her, until her guns were full, then she threw him toward Paul.

She noticed the Head didn't even try to get out of the way when the corpse came toward him, he just grabbed it in midair and threw it away; then placed his hands in his pockets, a smug grin running on his face.

"And I was just thinking it was time for a little something." She said softly, confidence radiating from her red eyes.

She jumped at him with her blades extended, gripping the handle tightly, but she didn't even touch him. He threw her the same way he threw the dead thug and she crashed into a wall. The force of the impact shook the wall and she needed a few seconds to get up; she shook her head trying to focus, but she didn't give up that easily. Rayne came toward him again and he tried to hit her, but this time she dodged and she brought her blades up his back. When she looked at the wound she saw that she had only cut the surface of the skin, her blades having only a little blood on the tips. 'What the fuck? My blades can cut through bones and this guy is barely injured?'

The Head formed his hand into a hard fist and caught her in the side of her face, Rayne backed away, her eyes closed and her face aching from the hit. She brought her leg up meaning to hit him but he caught it and spun around throwing her again in a wall.

Rayne got up again, this time pissed as hell, her blades becoming pitch black, and launched herself at him; she slashed his chest and his arms, finally spinning 360 degrees only to finish with two vertical cuts, one on each of his cheeks. He backed away, but she could see that the cuts were only superficial, and would probably heal fast. He tried to hit her with his fists but she managed to dodge almost all the punches, the last one, however got her in the stomach. The force of the hit almost made her collapse but she stayed on her feet. He grabbed her by her face and slammed her into the ground, he then leaned forward probably to repeat the move, but Rayne planted her boots in his chest and flipped him head over heels to land next to her. She got up to see that he was already on his feet, a sick grin running on his face. He reached out and grasped her neck, his fingers tightening on the soft skin. She gasped for air and tried to free herself by jamming her blade in his neck, but his skin was so tough the blade cut a little skin and then slid away. She though of something quickly: she fought to stay conscious and mustered all her remaining strength to cut the skin at the jugular. As soon as the blade pierced the skin blood came flowing out of he wound; he noticed that and let go of her, putting his hands on his neck. Rayne gasped for breath at his feet, but she tried to get up, only to be met with a massive punch in the nose.


	7. Chapter 7: Lord Giovanni de Colenzo

Chapter VII: Lord Giovanni de Colenzo.

20:21 4th day

Rayne awoke the next day chained to a chair, her forearms held in place by steel bracers, in front of her a long table with a few empty plates. She noticed that she wasn't dressed in her normal attire, but in one of the ugliest dresses she had ever seen, it was made of dark red velour but it looked old and dirty, almost worn out, the thing was strapped on her pretty tightly and it had a very low décolletage and her feet had some kind of shoes with a low heel. She also noticed that her blades, her guns, her necklace all were gone.

"You're up. Are you okay? I hope I didn't hurt you." She recognized his voice and lifted her sight to see him at the end of the table.

"You suddenly care about what happens to me?" Rayne noticed that all his wounds were gone.

"I just didn't want to damage you before I even got a chance to talk to you"

'Damage me?' yeah, this guy thinks I'm a thing, not a person.

"Where are my clothes? My equipment?"

"I took them to the dungeon, they will be given back when you choose to side with me. And don't worry about the dress, Mirina here was the one who clothed you."

"Oh, I'm so relieved." Rayne said sarcastically. 'At least it would explain why the laces are so tight.' The blonde girl she had seen at the cub appeared behind him "All right, I'm done playing games. Who are you?"

"You still don't know? I would have thought you were resourceful and could learn by yourself. Oh, well, I don't need you for your brain, anyway, I need you for your muscle." He said moving from his spot, he leaned on the side of the table when he got close to her and looked at her with a smile. She bared her fangs. "I will tell you, because I want you to know I'm not a psycho, I don't want to kill anyone that doesn't want to kill me first. And that I need you." He smiled. "Mirina, will you please leave us?"

"But you said I could live with you…"

"Yes, but right now I want to be alone with my guest…I will call for you if I need you." He said not taking his eyes off Rayne. He then spoke slowly:

"My darling, my name is Lord Giovanni De Colenzo, and this is my city, it has been my city since 1453. I have woken and I have come to claim my right as the true ruler. When I was awake I guarded the city and helped it prosper and it grew under my guidance for over 300 years. But in 1797 when Napoleon came, I fell trying to defend it, and had to flee and recover from my injuries. I was asleep for 200 years, only to wake up and find these pathetic wretches at the seat that should be mine! Their blood is weak, they do no deserve to rule, they are ignorants to the true needs of the city."

"You wouldn't the city's needs if they came from behind and fucked you in the ass."

He smiled, his eyes narrowing, showing Rayne his fangs.

"And why wouldn't I know what's good for my people?"

"Because you are a relic, an anachronistic piece of shit that has no idea how the modern world works. Let me guess, if you wanted 'your people' to be happy, you would give them land, right?"

"No, my best guess is that money would work better. But anyway, why do you think I sided with 'The Knights'?"

"What does this have to do with them?"

"A lot. You see, my dear BloodRayne, I plan on getting my city back from bottom to top; It was hard staying with them, learning from them, but I did anyway, because they are the people closest to the city, they know what's in, what's out, they know the dirty face of the city, and like almost all the time, the ugly side of things is their true side. They know the sins of the new age."

Rayne just glared at him. "Lemme ask you something then. Why the kidnappings? You couldn't find punks tasty enough?"

He chuckled: "Actually, no, I couldn't. I don't eat trash and 'The Knights' are, well, to pun it in their language, stoned. They were tainted with chemicals, and besides, I believe they taste quite awful."

"I did have other reasons for my actions, though. First of all I wanted to taunt the Arpino, the mongrels that stole my domain, but most importantly …I needed fear on my side. To create tension that no one is safe, that people are going to be attacked in their own homes, and that the officials can't do anything to stop it. Afterward, when things got out of control, I would put my own people in places of power and show the city that they are competent and that they can protect, that I can protect them."

"Oh, I get it, you don't want to kill, you want to enslave."

"Well…." He said smiling.

"All right, that does it!" She started struggling but the chains wouldn't budge. "Let me go!"

"Why are so upset? I'm bringing order to the city."

"You're bringing chaos to the city! You said it yourself: you've got fear on your side and only chaos can come from fear! Look in the streets, people are panicking, that's not order!"

"My dear, you have to see the bigger picture."

"I do see it! You're bringing _your_ order to the city; don't dare insult me by saying you're doing this for the 'greater good', kay? You're whole 'I know best' act is bullshit and you know it!"

"What am I doing that is so wrong?"

"You're trying to impose your will on free people, you're …subduing them for your own needs!"

"And what makes you so good? You seduce men all the time to get what you want."

"I don't try to enslave them, you don't even give them a choice."

"Some of them are asking for it, like sheep! They need to be guided."

"You're not guiding! You're dominating them! I've seen what you do to your minions, you take their will away, that's why they have that zombie-like look in their eyes! Stop making excuses for yourself, be a man and just admit you're an asshole!"

He started laughing. Rayne glared at him, her eyes casting a feral shine, her fangs bared.

"Even if you aren't resourceful, you make up for it in other ways. Yes, your observations are correct, I am taking their free will… Sanguis imperium est. You see, I have discovered this when I was made a vampire, my blood is extremely potent and even one sip from it is enough to ensure loyalty. My subjects have drank it and they are happy—"

"More like brain dead."

"And you will drink it as well if I don't have you siding with me by your own accord."

"I would sooner kill myself with my own blades."

"That won't be necessary. But I think you of all things would understand that Blood is power." Rayne raised an eyebrow. "You see, _I_ know you are a dhampir, and _you_ should know that your power comes from the fact that you are half vampire and you have all the strengths, and from the fact that you are half human you don't have the fatal weaknesses. And, my dear, I can make your blood even more powerful, all you have to do is drink from me."

"And to spend the rest of my life shackled to you? Why don't you take your offer and shove it up your ass?" He just chuckled:

"My BloodRayne, my blood reign, we will bring together the reign of powerful blood." He reached to touch her cheek but she turned her head out of the way of his greedy fingers. "You are just like her."

"Like who?"

"Like Aliza, my last guardian. She was strong willed too, in the end she gave her life for me." He said with a smirk. "Let me show you something." He walked away from Rayne, only to return a few seconds later carrying a wooden case in his arms. The box had a window through which you could see what was inside it: two swords that had blades dark as pitch and when the light hit them they shone a strange red light, like there were flames inside. The handles were beautifully made out of some type of metal and had a ruby placed in the center of each.

"She was the only one who could wield them, not because they were heavy, but because if any one would touch them they would get their hands burnt. I can only hold them if I coat them first in my blood, and not just the handles, but the blades as well."

"So?"

"So nothing, I just showed you her weapons because I wanted you to see that she fought just like you and that maybe if she joined me, you will also consider my offer."

"Sure, just let me go, and I'll show you my decision."

To Rayne's surprise he placed the wooden case on the table and proceeded to free her from the chains. But he was prepared: as soon as Rayne jumped at him he caught one of her arms and twisted it behind her back, bringing her neck close to his mouth. He then whispered in her ear:

"Keep struggling my dear, your breasts move so beautifully in this dress."

Rayne realized that no matter how many of her actions were controlled by her lust, her wrath had the most power over her. Her blood boiling with rage she found a knife on the table and shoved it in his eye. She knew that wouldn't kill him, but it was enough to let her go and to give her enough time to punch him in the stomach. He removed the knife and started calling his guards. 15 punks quickly entered the room and Rayne knew she couldn't fight them all especially because she hadn't fed in a long time and because she didn't have any weapons.

"Take her to the dungeon. I will keep you there until you are so hungry you will not have other options but to drink my blood!"


	8. Chapter 8: Escape of the Only Arpino

Chapter VIII: The Escape of the Only Arpino

22:10

Rayne was escorted to the dungeon by 5 thugs who couldn't possibly be any match for her had she fed. Unfortunately, she was without weapons and she was still beaten and bruised from the other day so she had to go along with their plan; but while walking to the 'dreaded dungeons' she looked around, trying to memorize the way and as many details as possible. She knew this was not going to end like Lord Asshole upstairs wanted to.

The goon squad and BloodRayne traveled through numerous halls and she noticed that the windows had been covered to keep any light from coming in during day time. They finally got to the ground level and one of the thugs opened a door to what was supposed to be the basement. They started descending and the trip seemed like a good five minutes until they reached the end of the stairs. There was a hall and at the end it had a rusted steel door, she looked to her right only to see a rat-like human, guarding some sort of shelves. Her eyes widened at what she saw on the shelves behind this human: her equipment. 'Lord Asshole said it was in the dungeons. He must be kiddin', why in the world did he put them so close to me? Oh well I ain't complanin'.' Rayne thought.

The rat came closer, his mouth watering when he saw her but Rayne backed away because of the disgusting smell he was spreading.

"Git in dearie." He said pointing at the rusted door. He opened it and Rayne saw that it was a round room which had chains and hand cuffs on the walls. Now it really looked like a dungeon, all cold and damp. He reached toward her, probably to push her inside but she entered before he even got within reach. To her surprise he followed in and said:

"You're gittin' chained. D'you think dat we'd let you free, eh, birdie?"

"A girl can only hope…"

The cuffs were low on the wall which meat she would have to sit down on the floor. The rat removed a key from a large ring he had on his waist and locked her in place, his nose moving close to her, sniffing her; Rayne backed away in disgust.

He left the room throwing her one last look and closing the door behind him enshrouding everything in darkness. Rayne shifted, trying to find a way to loosen the cuffs, but to no avail.

"Rayne?"

She switched to Aura Vision and saw that she wasn't alone, there was a vampire chained to the wall as well. She recognized his voice.

"Mario? I though you were dead, I went to your mansion, there was blood everywhere."

"Some of it was probably mine, most of it was Tony's. I thought you were dead as well."

"Yeah, well, I'm good at staying alive. We have to get out of here."

"How? The chains are made of steel, and the only key is with that guy."

"Well, let's get that guy's attention…Hey! HEY! ...Honey?"

Surprisingly the rat came: "You called, dearie?"

Rayne put on her luscious voice: "Yeah, I did. Come closer." He seemed to be cautious when moving toward her. "C'mon, I'm chained. I can't harm you."

"Closer, baby."

When he was right in front of her Rayne brought up her leg and hit him in the crotch. The guy fell on his knees from the pain, only to receive a hit on his temple by Rayne's heel effectively knocking him unconscious. She then grabbed the key ring with her heel and twisted a little until she reached it with her hand. 'Good thing the cuffs are placed low on the wall' she thought.

She opened her hand cuffs, then went and helped Mario.

"Stay here for a while I'm going to make sure the road is clear." She knew that there was no one there because she scouted ahead using her senses; the fact was that she wanted some privacy when she changed into her leathers. She removed the dress ('God, for such a powerful lord he could have afforded better clothing') and put on her outfit, except for the fact that it was cold on her skin it wasn't any different.

Mario stayed a few minutes but he didn't hear anything outside and he started thinking that maybe she had bailed on him. He exited the room and looked around, and there she was. Se had already gotten her pants with her boots and the corset top on, now she was placing the necklace on her neck. One by one, all her remaining details were put into place: her arm sheathes with her gloves, the two rings that were threaded through her hair, and finally her weapons, both her blades and her guns. Mario had to admit even if he wanted to turn away he couldn't have, she was absolutely stunning, her curved form was highlighted by the scarce moonlight coming in from a small window with bars and the shadows in the room couldn't hide her soft skin. Rayne turned around and saw him, she knew he had been watching her but she didn't mind, she kinda liked the attention, and besides it's not like he had seen anything important. She flashed a wicked smile and came close to him: "Are you ready to bust out of here?"

"Yes, ma'am." He was smiling as well. He noticed something about her: seduction and even this cheeky flirting came natural to her, and maybe that's why he was growing more and more interested in her.

Rayne looked at him, Mario reminder her of a younger Diego, even though they didn't look alike. Mario was average built and he was even a little shorter that Rayne when she was in her 'standard boots'. He had chestnut hair and dark brown eyes, he was pale, like almost all vampires, and Rayne figured he must be about 100-150 years old. One thing she noticed about his appearance, even though he was beaten and bruised, and his hair wasn't clean and his suit was cut in several places and even had a few gunshot holes, Mario still looked like a respectable bank manager. Rayne didn't usually get after this kind of guys, the ones that sit in an office and can't fight, but something told her he was different and, anyway, she figured Mario had to be confident, smart and tough if he managed to survive the siege at his house.

The moment they got to the ground level they were assaulted by the Lord's goons, unfortunately they weren't fast enough, strong enough or smart enough to at least run from BloodRayne's blades. She told Mario that he should escape now while the sun was still down, she was going after the Lord. When asked how she was going to defeat him she just smiled again and said:

"I'll improvise."

That was the last Mario saw of her that night. She proceeded to cut her way up to the top until she reached his chamber.


	9. Chapter 9: Aliza the Souless

Chapter IX: Aliza the Souless

2:13

She walked in the large room, her steel stilettos making a loud noise with every step. It was just like she had left it: empty with only a long table in the middle, the case with those two swords was still on it, and he was sitting at the other end of the table, Mirina was standing to his left.

Rayne glared at him, her confidence seemed to charge the air with electricity and her eyes showed the power that she had. She was good and pissed, ready for murder.

"Mirina leave us."

"No." It was Rayne who had spoken. Mirina got scared and tried to run, but BloodRayne used one bullet aimed directly to the head and killed her. She then looked at him:

"She choose to live with you, that means she choose to die with you."

Rayne wasn't taking any prisoners. He got up and started walking toward her but stopped at a few feet away from his would-be-killer.

"You seem to think you can destroy me."

"I'm just confident in my abilities."

"This is the last time I'm going to ask you: you still won't join me?"

"Bite me."

Her last words triggered the Lord's anger, he came at her so fast she barely had time to dodge, but she flipped over him, landing behind and started cutting his back with a few blade swipes. He turned around, but she back flipped out of the way. Rayne realized that she couldn't just start slicin' and dicin' because this guy's skin was so tough a normal attack seemed like a scratch to him. She needed something better, but the room was practically empty making improvisation pretty hard.

He ran toward her but this time she didn't have time to dodge, he delivered four punches to her chest taking the all air out her, he then picked her up and threw her into a wall.

"Uhh, god what is it with you and walls?" she muttered after getting up and rubbing the back of her head. He ran to her, but Rayne cartwheeled this time round him to his left, and then she flipped with her back to him and her legs outstretched, the spikes of the shoes cutting his thigh. He backed away only to receive a buckshot of bullets in his face from Rayne's Dragons.

He looked at her and she could see that the butts of the bullets were sticking out of his face, one of them in his eye, but he seemed unfazed. Her eyes widened at the hideous picture: his face was covered in his blood, but he just grinned showing his teeth.

He delivered a painful uppercut in her chin sending her flying in the table. She crashed on the box, the glass of the window shattering on impact. She tried to stand up but she felt like she had been hit in the chin with a sledgehammer. She glanced at the remains of the table, one handle sticking out from underneath the broken wood. Without thinking she grabbed it and immediately a searing pain came through her hand. She yelled and closed her eyes but when she opened them all she saw darkness.

"Do you know what they called him?" Rayne heard a low voice coming from behind her. She turned around, but she didn't see the one speaking to her, instead she saw two people: Lord Giovanni de Colenzo and a woman. The woman was dressed in armor and Rayne could see two sword sheaths on each of the woman's side. She had short red hair that looked unclean, her features were hard and her eyes were dark. Her armor shone in the dim light of the candles that surrounded them. The lord looked the same, except for his clothes, they looked like they were from the middle ages.

"Do you know what they called him?" The voice asked her again, this time Rayne could notice it was a woman's voice, but it was hard and the tone was almost sarcastic. It still came from her back, but Rayne didn't turn, she knew there was no one behind.

"They called him 'Lord Giovanni the Voidbringer'. I am…was the commander of the Vampire Knights in the town; I had defeated so many enemies and I though he couldn't harm me." The scene changed a little and the lord and the woman shook hands.

"I had dinner with him the night I met him, but I didn't know that the snake had poisoned the glass from which I drank with his blood." The scene changed completely: They were at the long table, and the woman was dressed in the ugly dress Rayne had had on, only now it looked clean and new. They toasted and the woman drank from a cup.

"I became his slave. Do you know what they called me? 'Aliza the Souless', because they thought I had sold my soul to him. No. My soul was still there, only it was smothered, my will broken, my freedom raped from me."

"The night I died he thought that I died to save him, he didn't know what I had planed. I wanted to die thinking it was the only way to be free again, only it wasn't. I drank so much of his blood that _my_ blood became his, my soul shackled to his." Her voice became bitter. "That's why I'm here, I'm still strapped to his blood, still trapped in his soul."

"The blades you just picked up, they were made to cut through the toughest hides. Spill his blood, spill his power and" she seemed to plead "and free me…Please…He poisoned my heart, ate my soul, corrupted my blood. Do this and the blades will be yours."

"I would have done it anyway" said Rayne.

"Tell him I will be the one dragging his soul to hell."

She opened her eyes and felt a strange, but not unpleasant, warmth in her hand. She looked at it and saw that she was holding one of the swords. She looked up and saw that the lord was trying to get the bullets out of his face. Rayne quickly rummaged through the broken wood and found the other sword. She noticed that the moment she touched the handle the same warmth spread through her body, giving her strength. She noticed something different as well: the blades' inner dark red light was now shining outward, like flames. She got up holding both swords, her body surrounded by a red volatile aura, her eyes radiated with power, her smile wide enough to show her fangs.

He looked at her waiting for her to make her move. Rayne ran toward him and she started slicing his chest and his face with the two swords, blood spraying everywhere. He tried to back up only to receive one kick to the gut and another one in the chin. She tried to impale him but he dodged and grabbed her arm and twisted it behind her back.

"This is gonna hurt me more than it hurts you." Rayne's words were laced with confidence and she even chuckled.

She maneuvered the sword in her other hand and jammed it in his stomach. He yelled out in pain and let go of her. She turned around and twisted both her swords in her hands to get a better grip on them. Rayne ran toward him, but instead of trying to hit him with her blades, like he was expecting, she arched her back and delivered a scissor kick to his face. It didn't do much damage, but it stunned him for a few seconds, all that she needed to begin slicing his chest with the swords splattering his blood on both of them. She grabbed him by both his shoulders and pushed him down then slammed her knee into his chest as hard as she could. He let out another yell of pain and this time she could even find a trace of fear in it, she liked it that way. She wanted to hit him again but he ducked and hit her with his fist in her cheek. She staggered but when he tried to hit her again she moved so fast he didn't even know what was happening. She had flipped over him and started kicking him in the back of his knees, until finally she pushed his legs from under him. The lord collapsed and turned to look at her. BloodRayne grabbed his neck.

"Aliza says hi."

His eyes widened in horror and disbelief and she shoved one of the swords straight in his left eye exiting on the other side of the head with a fountain of tissue and blood.


	10. Chapter 10: The Devils

Chapter X: The Devils

21:16

Rayne came out of the bathroom completely naked, her wet hair combed back on her head. Her outfit and toys were on the bed waiting for her. She walked toward them thinking about how she came to have her weapons. She remembered how the Dragons hooked themselves to her blood stream and how she felt like someone had slit her wrists. And Beliar's eye had hurt her as well when it buried itself inside her skull. But just like with her two new swords the pain didn't last long, it was only at the beginning and then she could use them to their full capacity without any problems.

'Maybe the whole pain-before-use means that all good weapons require a little sacrifice, a little blood spilt.' She thought.

These new weapons were considerable better that her old ones: turns out that these blades don't need sharpening, they're also unbreakable and, best, they can even cut through the toughest demon skin, even preventing it from regenerating. One other thing that she liked about them was that all the blood spilled on them seemed to sip into her, feeding her strength.

She pulled her pants first over her long legs and strapped them tight to her body, she didn't wear underwear when she was dressed in her leathers, because she enjoyed the light touch of leather, it was somewhat arousing. She then put on her steel stiletto boots; she remembered someone at Brimstone laughing and saying that she was trapped in the 80' because of the platform, he wasn't laughing a few seconds later when her boot collided with his face knocking him unconscious. Rayne pun on her corset top on and made sure that all the laces were nice and tight, just like she liked them, then she put on her arm sheathes and her gloves. Rayne threaded the two rings through her hair and then fluttered the black ribbons behind her shoulders. She looked at the last detail of her appearance: her necklace. She wore this necklace with Brimstone's symbol, not because she was fiercely loyal to them, but because of the person who gave it to her. She remembered she had lost the first pendant, or maybe it was stolen, and Professor Tremain had given her his necklace. She kept it in her palm for a few seconds, just like she did back then, and then locked it in place on her neck.

She first got her Carpathian Dragons and holstered them in their place, making sure she could draw them quickly then looked at her new babies.

The blades sat on the bed, they were like the first time she had seen them: pitch black, they only became flaming when her blood boiled with rage and when she was even more furious they would seem to grow and glow with these strange symbols. Kind of like her old blades. She had taken them to a friend of hers that still worked full time Brimstone: a blacksmith, he managed to fashion the handles and the blades so that now they no different then her former blades. She could place them on her wrists and snap them into place with just a flick, easy and maneuverable.

Looking back on how she got them Rayne thought that the Lord wasn't such a threat.

'He was tough, but his fighting skills were crap, you could tell that Aliza was the one doing all the fighting while he was the one who sat on the throne and schemed. Pathetic. But at least the whole affair didn't felt me short handed: I got new toys, not to mention that Mario owes me a huge debt because I saved his life and his city and Diego is in debt as well.'

She looked at her new toys smiling, she threw her old blades one last look, she had put them in a glass case and placed it above her bed.

"Goodbye my angels, and hello Devils."

-----

So here it is, the end. I wrote this because the story of her blades just didn't sit right with me, it was lacking, so I gave her new blades. Maybe I will write more stories about everyone's favorite dhampir, but for now I'm kinda busy, so maybe later.

I appreciate any criticism, even the tough kind so don't be afraid to give me "constructive" feed-back.


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